JOIN USThe Union Health Ministry plans to come out with a national alcohol policy to suggest ways and means of reducing harm caused by alcohol as India is all set to adopt a voluntary target of reducing alcohol consumption due to its adverse public health consequences.
The policy being framed by the ministry may suggest how the consumption of alcohol can be brought down by 5 per cent by 2020 and by an additional five per cent by 2025. It would emphasise on public health impacts of alcohol use and how it adds to India’s non-communicable disease burden.
Currently, alcohol comes under the purview of the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment that looks into its societal impact. At the state level, alcohol is regulated by state excise policies that cover manufacturing, distribution and possession of alcohol.
With India voluntarily agreeing to reduce alcohol consumption in the line of an UN target, the Health Ministry would play a key role in framing the policy and push for its implementation, said a source.
Alcohol is the world’s third largest risk factor for disease burden accounting for 2.5 million deaths. The major individual harms related to alcohol are coronary heart disease, breast cancer, tuberculosis, motor vehicle accidents, liver cirrhosis and suicide, says a report, released by the Public Health Foundation of India, earlier this week.
Studies carried out by researchers at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (NIMHANS), Bangalore found alcohol-related admissions accounted for over a fifth of hospital admissions in India as alcohol users generally report a greater frequency of ill-health. Spirits are one of the commonest causes of suicide and road traffic accidents, both of which have high mortality.
A 2004 NIMHANS study in Bangalore that analyses police records of 2,652 suicides revealed 15 per cent of men and 1.5 per cent of women were regular and chronic alcohol users with 56 per cent being under the influence of alcohol at the time of committing the suicide.
A study on attempted suicides demonstrated 27 per cent men and 1.5 per cent women were regular alcohol users with eight out of 10 being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the attempt. Two years later, when the NIMHANS team conducted another study, it found the trend was continuing.
“Alcohol should be seen as as a public health issue, in the wake of the growing social acceptability of alcohol use particularly among youth,” said Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed.